Letters to the editor on Kansas vs. Texas, abortion, tax deductions

There are plenty of arguments for eliminating income taxes to cure the Kansas economy. But like any prescription, there are side effects – the shift of the tax burden to other individuals or local government, and cuts to services for individuals, education, economic development programs, infrastructure and public safety programs.

Being conservative – cautious and leery of miracle cures – I looked for evidence of the benefits. Gov. Sam Brownback uses Texas as a model for what the prescription will do for Kansas, so I checked census numbers.

Per capita income is $26,545 in Kansas, $25,548 in Texas; high school graduates, 89.5 percent in Kansas and 80.4 percent in Texas; college graduates, 29.7 percent in Kansas and 26.1 percent in Texas; residents below poverty level, 12.6 percent in Kansas and 17 percent in Texas. All with Texas sitting on a sea of oil.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.

If a doctor told me the goal is to make me worse off than I am now, I’d live with the disease. The governor’s “it’ll work because I believe” argument is something for which conservatives used to criticize liberals.

JEFFREY BEAM

Derby

Numb to loss

Cal Thomas truly hit home in his commentary on the ills of our society (“Schoolchildren are not the ‘most vulnerable,’” Jan. 23 Opinion). Stillborn infants are discovered in a trash bin, and we all react with shock. But within our city limits it has been perfectly legal to abort the same life without question.

Regarding the mass shootings: The issue is not guns, access to mental health or high-capacity magazines. The real difficulty lies deep within society and our acceptance of the “new normal.” We have become numb to the loss of life.

These points have been belabored time and again, but for the sake of future generations, we need to do just that. It is our responsibility to renew our respect for the life that God gave us. We must stop treating the symptoms and focus on the source.

God really did have the noble idea. Make stuff right the first time, then leave it alone.

MARTY KLINE

Wichita

Rich politicians

Why is it that rich politicians like Gov. Sam Brownback love to pull tax deductions just because they can afford to do without them? Not everyone gets generous health care benefits like they do. Not everyone can go to sleep at night without having to decide what bills get paid this week and what hopefully can be held onto until the next payday.

The only way to offset Brownback’s proposed removal of the property-tax deduction and the mortgage-interest deduction is to go to a flat tax or no income tax.